Chapter IX: A.d. 1879

THE CHURCH AT BATALA

The annals of 1879 are as usual very abundant, and space can only be found for a limited selection of extracts. Miss Tucker was much distressed about the Afghan war; not because of any possible peril or discomfort to herself, but because her judgment disapproved of it as a whole, and also because of the sufferings which she knew it must entail upon the soldiers.

While the larger number of extracts given are, throughout her Indian career, in reference to the work going on round about her, it must not be supposed that her love for relatives and old friends, or her interest in all that concerned them, ever for a moment waned. The letters teem with loving words and messages; and every item of news from England is received with delight. Her affections seem to have grown stronger rather than weaker, through long separation.

‘BATALA, _Jan. 16, 1879_.--Mine own Laura, how could you write
regarding the little meeting, at which you and sweet Margaret
were, “Would you not like to be in my shoes at the time, and
hold your darling friend in your arms?” I would much rather
have been in _Margaret’s shoes_, and have held some one else
in my arms,--only for the wrench that would have followed! But
O love, we are travelling in the same train, only in different
carriages; and I am thankful that though we cannot see each
other, we can as it were talk to each other out of the windows.
What a blessing the Post is!’

TO MISS ‘LEILA’ HAMILTON.

_‘Jan. 20, 1879._

‘Ours is not to be a village church, dear, but one in a city of
more than 25,000 inhabitants, where there are graceful mosques,
a large idol-temple, etc. A mere mud shed would be quite out of
character; our present room in a schoolhouse would be better
than that. There is considerable difficulty and expense in
buying a site. It ought to be _in_ the city. I have written to
dear ---- about one which Mr. Baring has seen, but it is very
doubtful whether the place can be purchased.

‘My nephew and I are both economical, and I think that you
and dear Fred may depend on money not being wasted in useless
decorations. But the sacred edifice ought to be of brick, and
pretty strong, not only to endure for years, but also to keep
out the heat. A tiny church would not cost much; one so small
that beams could reach from side to side. But if our Church
is to go on growing, as we hope and pray that it may, what
would be the advantage of having a tiny chapel, which would
not comfortably accommodate ourselves in a fiery climate, and
in which there would be no room at all for heathen spectators?
We should be wanting a _second_; and how could we procure a
second clergyman? Please thank dear Fred very, very much for
his kindness in collecting, and assure him that we wish to make
the money go as far as possible.’

TO MRS. HAMILTON.

‘_Jan. 31._--I sometimes think that it is well for me that I
have no one to carry cushions after me,--as the dear A----s
made the boys do in George Square,--or to watch my face to see
if I look pale. I have been enabled to make efforts, for which
I might not have thought my frame capable, and have kept my
health wonderfully.

‘This is the eighth day that I have not seen an English person!
Mera Bhatija has been away on duty; but I hope to have him
back to-morrow. I shall not be sorry to see him again; we are
becoming more and more like _real_ Aunt and Nephew. He wanted
me to go to Amritsar during his needful absence; but there were
strong reasons against that....

‘As regards health, we are between Scylla and Charybdis. People
in India cannot help thinking a great deal about it, because
five minutes’ carelessness may wreck health for life; yet it is
a great matter for us, if possible, to keep from sinking to the
languid “cannot-do-anything” point. To rest there is something
like letting the head go under water. I often think of dear
Uncle Tom’s expression,--“Never say die!”’

TO MRS. E----

‘_Feb. 4, 1879._

‘My nephew, the Rev. F. Baring, has organised little relief
works; for, owing to drought, and partly to the war, there is
much distress in Batala. If you were here, dear Aunt, it would
interest you to walk about, leaning on my arm, and see poor men
in their rags, women and children, carrying baskets of earth on
their heads, to fill up that part of the tank which is nearest
to the house. It is a good thing for us, but a better thing
for the poor folk, who are thankful to earn their pice. Mr.
Baring intends also to give poor women in the city employment
in spinning, and to get a Christian native weaver to make the
cotton into towels or napkins....

‘Both my nephews, Mr. Bateman and Mr. Baring, are very clever
in finding ways to start the Converts in life, giving them
means of earning an honest livelihood. One fine lad has a
place in the Woods and Forests Department; another is learning
work in the Press; a third is to be employed in a religious
book-shop; a fourth convert is doing profitable business as a
small wood-merchant. Another, who has a little money of his
own, intends to set up a small shop in his own village. This is
rather brave, as, only a month or two ago, he was driven forth
by his own family with threats and curses. It seems to me that
a very important part of a Missionary’s work is to watch over
converts after Baptism, both as regards body and soul. In the
Church, in the time of the Apostles, converts were not left to
starve. They must not be idle, but they must have the means of
earning their bread. We also greatly wish that every Native
convert should feel it to be his or her work to bring in others
to Christ....

‘We intend to have a Fancy Fair in April, for the Church
which we hope to build; but the great puzzle will be to find
buyers,--Mr. Baring and myself being the only white folk in
Batala, and Natives generally disliking to spend money, except
on marriages, funerals, jewels, and sweetmeats.’

TO MRS. HAMILTON.

‘_March 3._--I have another dear letter, to-day received, to
thank you for. You need take no thought, love, about where I
sit. We have benches in chapel; and as for my duli--to sit on
its flat floor does not hurt me in the least. I dare say that
dear E. never got into the way of it; but I take to it as a
duck to the water. The only difficulty is the scrambling out of
the box; but this does me no harm; it is wholesome exercise. As
for a carriage, it would be useless in Batala. I was regularly
blocked in to-day, even in my tiny duli. The streets are so
narrow and so crowded....’

TO W. F. T. HAMILTON.

‘_March 17._

‘Our saintly Bishop, Dr. French, is now our guest.... We are
having such an interesting time, a heart-warming time! There
is to be a Confirmation to-morrow; and oh, through what fiery
trials some of the dear candidates have come! There is B--n,
... the first man who dared to be baptized in bigoted Batala.
His Baptism cost him wife and child. There is the thin, worn
B. D., with his hair turning grey; the only Christian in his
village, he whom his own mother has reviled.... There is the aged
Faqir and his stalwart sons,--but I need not enumerate all. I
have told you enough to show what peculiar features of interest
may attend a Confirmation in India,--especially perhaps in
so thoroughly Oriental a place as this, where there are no
Europeans at all but my nephew and myself.

‘Ours is such a dear little Church,--I am not aware that there
is one really black sheep in it, though there are some infirm
ones. Ten women are to receive Confirmation. I think that
all but perhaps one have been converts from Muhammadanism or
Hinduism. I do not mean to say that they are all Batala people;
but Batala is a genial place to which converts seem drawn.

‘To-morrow, after Confirmation, we hope to spread, not the
_board_ but the _floor_, for a goodly number of welcome guests,
more even than we had at Christmas. One feels very thankful
to see such a nice large Christian family.... Of course some
Stations are more trying to faith; some of God’s servants have
to toil for years, and apparently catch nothing; but about here
in various directions one hears of converts and inquirers.
There is feeling of _life_ stirring among the dry bones.’

TO MISS ‘LEILA’ HAMILTON.

‘_April 1, 1879._

‘Do you ever enter Trinity Church?[93] Probably not, it is so
far from you. To your sweet Mother and myself many memories are
connected with it. Weddings and Christenings,--the overflowing
pew,--the corner of it where we used to see the dear bald head
of our venerated Father!...

‘We have a dear young convert from a village, who, like others,
finds in Batala a refuge. A simple guileless lad, who likes to
come, as dear U. did, to sit at one’s feet, and have a talk
about God’s Word.... He does not know much, but enough to have
enabled the lad to resist temptation and endure persecution....
I wish that dear ---- would take up the subject of _portable_
Bibles in Persian Urdu. Even the children of clever Christian
parents are apt to be sadly ignorant of Old Testament
Scriptures. How much would English school-children know of
them, if they could only buy Bibles in three (Persian Urdu)
large volumes,--or in one (Arabic Urdu), very large and heavy?

‘It is not only the expense but the extreme inconvenience of
such bulky books that must be considered. Mera Bhatija has
English Urdu Bibles for his boys, but some read them with
difficulty; and we cannot expect a _nation_ to adopt a new type
utterly different from its own. There is a beautifully written
New Testament in Persian Urdu ... light, easily carried about,
and costing only half a rupee. This is a great boon; but we
want the Old Testament Scriptures.... They are at present almost
shut out from the people. Our great want is a complete Bible,
as delicately written out, and on as fine light paper, as the
New Testament, and not very expensive. Most of the Natives are
so very poor. I can scarcely imagine how they manage to live.’

TO MRS. HAMILTON.

‘BATALA, _April 20, 1879_.

‘Your dear, sweet letter received to-day was like a nice little
visit to me in my comparative loneliness. Mera Bhatija and Babu
Singha are both away at Amritsar.... If, when proposing to come
out, I could have been told that I should be all alone in a
house with thirteen Native boys,--my Ayah is absent from late
illness,--I should have been startled, perhaps half-frightened.
But these dear fellows do not worry me at all. I asked one of
them yesterday: “If I were ill, which of you would nurse me?”
“All of us,” was the reply. I thought that thirteen boys would
be too much for a sick-room; so--“We would take it in turns,”
was the second answer....

‘Many thanks, love, for the two copies of the nice work
on Prophecies in the Old Testament. It ought to convince
any candid mind.... It might be valuable to English-reading
Muhammadans. But it is not at all necessary with them to
avoid the Blessed Saviour’s Name. Yesterday, in a Zenana a
bright-looking young woman exclaimed, not particularly apropos
to anything that I was saying: “Jesus Christ is the Son of
God.” “Beshakh!” (Without doubt!) instantly rejoined an older
Bibi.

‘Not that the offence of the Cross has ceased. The persecution
which dear ---- is enduring shows this. He has been beaten
five or six times; and I think that we shall have to try to
get his enemies bound over to keep the peace. Personally, I
am courteously, sometimes affectionately, treated. The poor
converts are those who have to endure hardness!’

* * * * *

‘_April 27._--I know that some of my dear ones think that I
must be very lonesome, with no white woman near me. But there
are three things to prevent this:--1st, The Presence of the
Master. 2nd, The feeling that separation of body is nothing
compared to separation of soul. My ties to loved ones in
England are _not_, thank God, broken! They do not depend on
mere space. 3rd, Real loneliness, as regards even this world,
is the want of love and sympathy. Some count my brown friends
for nothing in this way. I do not do so. They draw out one’s
affections, and respond to them. The heart does not shrivel up
in India, even when one lives in such an out-of-the-way place
as Batala.’

TO MISS ‘LEILA’ HAMILTON.

‘_May 1, 1879._

I am sure that your dear Mother and you would peruse with
interest Keshab Sen’s lecture, or rather the review of it
in the _Statesman_ which I sent home.... Keshab Sen was a
brave man, not only as regards the Hindus, but the English
officials, to say what he did. To aver that it is Christ’s
Religion--not our superior strength, wisdom, intelligence--that
holds India for us, is likely to give great offence in high
quarters. To say what this Hindu did of despised Missionaries,
a band of weak-minded amiable enthusiasts, if not something
more contemptible,--as the world thinks them,--showed moral
courage.... He has probably made a good many people, both white
and brown, angry. His cry, “Jesus alone!--Jesus alone! India
for Christ!” would find no echo in the large majority of
hearts....

‘I suspect that there is an impression amongst some Europeans,
as well as Natives, that Auntie is very old. I have three times
heard the latter say that I am a hundred; and I notice that
in the last _Female Evangelist_ I am pronounced “advanced in
years.” To my mind that means at least seventy!!! I was guessed
to-day as eighty in a Zenana. But I must be thought a pretty
active old dame, to get up such steep stairs as I do.’

TO MRS. HAMILTON.

‘_June 2, 1879._--Of course I cannot tell what God wills for
me. I do not intend to do anything foolish. I do not even let
my mind dwell _much_ on the joy of going to a Heavenly Home,
because it would seem selfish at present to wish to desert
others. I realise more the value of life below than I used to
do, and am thankful that at former periods God did _not_ fulfil
my wish to leave this Earth for a better. He is a poor soldier
who is always pining for the end of the campaign!’

* * * * *

‘_June 14._--I never felt so that the Word of God in my hand
was rejected, as in a Zenana to-day. When I came out, V., my
kahar, said, “You should not go to that house again. I was
outside, but I heard words that grieved me.” But I had two nice
Zenanas and a nice Native Christian home to balance. One of the
nice Zenanas was N.’s. He spoke almost like a Christian, before
his mother, grandmother, and handsome young bride. They all
seemed quite friendly.’

* * * * *

‘_June 20._--Darling Laura, your sweet letter has arrived
since I wrote the first note. Would you fairly _kill_ me
with kindness? You have already done too much. No, my sweet
sister, I would never like to take your money for needless
luxuries,--of comforts I have many. Ice is not to be had, is
_not_ needed, and I hardly ever even think of it. We are much
better without a carriage; walking is more wholesome, and to
me more pleasant. I kissed the signature on the cheque--and
then--destroyed it! Forgive me! In about two years I have had
_three_ cheques declined; so you see that I have enough and to
spare. I am quite easy-handed, love; not at all in straits,
thank God.’

TO MISS ‘LEILA’ HAMILTON.

(_Probably July 1879._)

‘I am engaged in a matrimonial affair. B., Mera Bhatija’s
Christian servant, having just been rejected by one woman,
solicits, through my Ayah, my good offices to find him a wife.
He bears a first-rate character, and would make an excellent
husband, but he has the single disadvantage of having only one
leg. I know that Mera Bhatija wishes B. to have a nice wife;
so--after consultation with one who knows the Orphanage maidens
well, and has an excellent judgment,--I have fixed on a jolly,
good-tempered girl, ... able to cook and scrub, and have written
a note to the Lady Superintendent, requesting her permission
for B. to pay court to C. C. is to be told of the lameness,
etc., and then if she too be willing, B. will be allowed to
have an interview with her. This interview decides the affair.
Both parties have a negative voice; both must be pleased; and
if so--the banns are published! This is the compromise between
European and Oriental ways of arranging marriages. I think that
Mera Bhatija takes a lively interest in the matter; and if the
marriage comes off, we should both like to have the wedding at
Batala. The people here ought to have the opportunity of seeing
a Christian wedding.’

TO MRS. HAMILTON.

‘_July 29, 1879._

‘I will give you another of my little Batala sketches. I am
sitting reading. Enters M., the tall one-armed Faqir (religious
beggar), who has been acting as Mera Bhatija’s pankah-wala.
He evidently wants to talk with me; so, seeing me willing to
listen, the tall fellow seats himself on the floor, and begins....

‘The poor fellow had been thinking how he could earn his
livelihood,--he has a wife and four children, and of course
religious begging would be for a convert both improper and
unprofitable. “Pankah-pulling will last for but a short time,”
he very truly observed. His plan was to start a little school
in his own village.

‘“But could you get pupils?” I asked, knowing that the humble
converts are not kindly treated by their neighbours.

‘“I think that I could from the hamlets round.”

‘Then I inquired as to the poor Faqir’s qualifications for a
teacher. “I can read the Gospel well,” was the simple reply.

‘“Can you write?”

‘He was weak in that, poor fellow. Having only one arm
increases the difficulty.

‘“Do you know accounts?”

‘“No,” he frankly owned; but he could learn; he would take
pains.

‘“You had better speak to the Padri Sahib; he makes all the
bandobast (arrangements); he is wise and kind.”

‘If _I_ would speak to the Padri Sahib,--he could tell _me_;
but with the Padri Sahib he was shy, etc.

‘It is rather refreshing to see a Native Christian, especially
one brought up to regard idleness rather as a virtue, turning
over in his mind what he can do to earn his living. If we
help poor M. to a little better education, perhaps his little
village school may prove not a bad idea, for the scholars
would learn what is good from him, though they could only
have elementary teaching. I do not see why rustics should
want high education. The Government are educating thousands
of clever infidels, who cannot all find employment as clerks,
etc., and who will despise manual labour. We want simple pious
_labourers_ to mind the plough, spell out their Testaments, and
try to obey God’s commands.’

August and September this year saw Miss Tucker, not at Dalhousie, but at Dilur, 3000 feet above the sea, with forest-clothed Himalayan slopes below, and snow above. She went there, partly for the change, but more for the sake of staying with a young married couple, to whom her companionship was a boon. The snow appears to have soon vanished, as in one letter, written in September, she observes: ‘The mountains are quite high and bold enough for beauty, though to my comfort there is not a soupçon of snow upon any of them.’ From the budget of Dilur letters, only two quotations can be given. The first is rare in style at this period of Charlotte Tucker’s life. She seldom found time for written ‘cogitations.’

TO MISS ‘LEILA’ HAMILTON.

‘DILUR, _Aug. 25_.

‘This is a very quiet place ... so I have plenty of time for
thinking. I have been musing to-day why it is so very much more
easy to love some Christians than others. You and every other
servant of God must feel this, I think. It is not quite easy
to get at the bottom of the matter. I ought to have particular
facilities for judging; for, thank God, I find it easy to love
a good many.

‘I have been considering to-day that simile of the four
different circles round Him Who is the Centre of light,
holiness, and beauty. Those who live nearest to Him, I do
believe, actually catch something, however faint, of His
likeness.... Christ is the All-attractive; and in the degree that
His redeemed ones reflect His Image, it seems to me that they
unconsciously attract. If I be not mistaken in this idea, one
sees why anything of littleness or meanness repulses. Those
possessing such qualities may be sincere servants of Christ;
but these qualities _spoil all likeness_! So, love, here is the
result of my cogitations, as I reclined on the sofa to rest
myself after rather a tiring little expedition.

‘But oh, what a solemnising thought it is!--The likeness
to Him, which we _know_ will be apparent in another world,
to begin in this! The glass of our souls, so spotted and
dusty,--spotted with sin, and dusty with pettiness,--to be
cleansed and polished, so as to receive such an Image! But you
and I, love, have caught a glimpse of that Image in those whom
we have been privileged to know; have we not?’

TO MRS. HAMILTON.

‘_Sept. 29._

‘Yes, precious Laura, you might be sure that Char does not
forget you in prayer any day; but your last dear letter from
Ilfracombe made me more inclined to praise. It seemed as if
God had granted just what I wished for you; that spiritual joy
which is His special gift. Why should the Children of Light
tread the pilgrim way in heaviness? “Light is sown for the
righteous,” and the crop begins to show itself even here....’

Later, in the same letter, when speaking of two young converts, she says of one of them:--

‘He is a Mullah’s (Muhammadan religious teacher’s) son, and
has been brought up in a fine school for bigotry. He told me
what a merit it is considered to kill infidels; and that, when
a child, he had intended to acquire this merit. “Do you mean
that, if they could, the Muhammadans would think it right
to kill all the Europeans and Native Christians?” I asked.
“Beshakh!” (Without doubt!) replied the lad simply. Happily all
Muhammadans are not Mullahs’ sons!’

* * * * *

‘BATALA, _Oct. 31, 1879_.--What shall I say for the splendid
box, which reached me in perfect condition to-night? I am
almost bewildered by the multitude of my possessions, and have
hardly yet quite realised their amount.... What shall I begin
with?--not the medicine, surely,--and yet quinine is such a
treasure in India, so often required, asked for! It is _the_
medicine in a fever-land. And it is dreadfully expensive. I
think that I once paid more than a guinea for a bottle, not a
large one. But the cretonne--yes, that must have a principal
place in my letter of thanks; such a splendid supply!...

‘I hope that my Laura will forgive me if I do not gobble up all
the groceries myself!! Of the chocolate and biscuit I shall
probably largely partake; they are such a comfort on winter
mornings....’

* * * * *

‘_Nov. 13._--I think that this is the fourth Anniversary of my
landing at Bombay,--my Indian birthday! Oh, how much I have to
be thankful for! Surely goodness and mercy have followed me!

‘Shall I give you a sketch of this my Indian birthday? Up
early--for I went to bed early. Ate two or three of my Laura’s
biscuits, and enjoyed them. Wrote till dear good R. brought the
hot water for my bath. Then came breakfast No. 2--tea and an
egg. At 7 A.M., or thereabouts, the prayer-bell rings, and we
all assemble in chapel. After chapel comes my delightful walk
in the fresh morning air. A little more writing and reading,
and--breakfast No. 3 with Mera Bhatija at 9. After that, off to
the city on foot, my kahars carrying my duli behind me.

‘In the city I visited first a Muhammadan Zenana, then paid my
weekly visit to our Brahmin convert, B.’s wife.... Then went to
G. R.’s Zenana, where are four generations of the family. I
can read the Gospel there, without let or hindrance. The sweet
young Bibi looked as if she would like me to kiss her,--so I
did! Then to Sadiq’s mother. After this I returned home, noted
down where I had been, and then--did _not_ set to my lessons.
I had something else to do. The cloth of our large screen was
dirty; so Mera Bhatija suggested our putting the pictures on a
nice clean one, and having the first white-washed. So I got in
my Ayah to help me, and we were stitching away like anything,
when I was interrupted by a visitor.

‘No fashionable lady,--no insipid individual, such as you must
talk to about weather, etc., but a fine, thoughtful young
Man,--who had been given a New Testament, which he is reading
every day, and who sat down on the floor, and quietly, gravely,
asked me to explain difficulties which he had met with in his
reading, such as Daniel’s “abomination of desolation,” the two
women grinding, etc.... When he left, I returned to my beauty
screen, but was interrupted by dear good Bibi M., who came to
read her report. She also wanted quinine,--I am _rich_, my
Laura knows. This brought me up to 3 o’clock dinner.

‘Poor N. N. is not well, so I had no afternoon lesson from a
Munshi, but I did a little by myself. Then out into the bright,
pleasant air, where I had a nice talk with dear I. and P. After
I came in, Mera Bhatija and I had tea,--now I am writing to my
Laura by lamplight; and when I lay down my pen, I intend to do
a little lessons. I have written out my vocabulary very large,
so as not to injure my eyes. At 8½ I shall hear the bell ring
for prayers; and that almost closes the day.

‘Now is not this a very nice Indian birthday? I feel quite well
and hearty now; much stronger than when in the Salt range.’

* * * * *

‘_Nov. 22._--Cold having set in pretty sharply, I have taken my
“graceful Grey” and faithful old Green out of their safe summer
quarters, and have prepared them for immediate service, putting
in lace to the sleeves, etc. The Episcopal Purple, my grand new
dress, I reserve for grand occasions. My dress must be well
fastened up, and decidedly more than clear the ground, when I
go to Zenanas. See me, in fancy, climbing slowly up a dirty
steep outside staircase. I have the indispensable umbrella in
one hand,--though it be winter, the sun may be blazing,--my
large books in the other. Unless I had a third hand, I could
not hold up my dress; and the steps may be of mud. Trains,
elegant in the house, would never do in Zenanas.... I hope
that you and dear Leila will be interested to hear that our
one-legged B., in search of a wife, has succeeded in finding
one. I think that their banns have been called twice; and we
shall probably see the happy pair next week.’

TO MISS ‘LEILA’ HAMILTON.

‘_Nov. 29, 1879._

‘Yesterday, at last, the cricket-match between our School
and the big Government School came off. We challenged the
Government School long ago; but they took no notice. Yesterday,
however, a match was arranged between our Christian School
and the Government one, which is about ten or twelve times
as large. We were much the first on the ground, and were
kept waiting for more than an hour. Most of our Eleven wore
red-checked flannel vests, but R. the captain had a becoming
grey one.... At last the match commenced; but it was hardly worth
calling one. The Government lads could not hold their own in
the least! The whole Eleven only made 5 runs between them!

‘It was a very different thing when our boys took the batting.
It does one good to hear the thud from R.’s bat when he sends
the ball flying ever so far. He and S. made, I think, 87 runs,
and were never bowled out. The rest of our boys had no turns
at all; for the sun went down, and still R. and S., tired, but
unconquered, held their wickets. What is most pleasing is that
our boys did not crow as they might have done,--their opponents
were too utterly smashed. Had the contest been a close one,
there would have been plenty of cheering.

‘I really hope that it may do good for it to be known through
Batala that, in a manly game, the Hindus and Muhammadans
“cannot hold a candle” to the Christian boys, who go preaching
and singing hymns on Sunday! Piety is all the more attractive
from union with manliness.

* * * * *

‘_Dec. 8._--Mera Bhatija intends to start a reading-room in
the city in 1880, with Bibles in various languages, books,
and some Native periodicals. The _Illustrated_--if you think
of continuing it--will form one of the baits. Many lads now
can read a little English; and the pictures will form an
attraction.’